


will we ever fit?

by hellfire123456



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Misunderstandings, Miya Atsumu POV, Pining, Puzzles, SakuAtsu Angst Week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29999508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellfire123456/pseuds/hellfire123456
Summary: Twice now Atsumu and Sakusa had grown a puzzle piece at the same time - a common occurrence when people are near their soulmate. Could that mean….? No, it couldn’t.Could it?-----A soulmate AU in which Atsumu falls in love with his supposed soulmate, but his soulmate seems to be in love with someone else.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Past Sakusa Kiyoomi/Ushijima Wakatoshi - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30
Collections: SakuAtsuAngstWeek





	will we ever fit?

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys, so this was originally a fluff week idea but i ended up turning it into a bigger angst week idea. the majority of this will be angsty (atsumu's inner thoughts as well as all the other stuff happening *wink*) but i PROMISE there's a happy ending, for those of you like me who can't do angst with an Ending. i did bang this first chapter out relatively quickly, so forgive me if there's some mistakes or underdeveloped parts! i will be expanding in the next :) enjoy!
> 
> \--
> 
> day 2 tier 1: soulmate au; tier 3: you love him. i can never be him.

Atsumu knows how the universe works, even if its ways are strange to him. Everyone is born with a small seed in their hand, clutched in a baby-sized fist in order to prevent it from being lost. The seed is usually formed from one’s own skin cells. After one full year of living, that seed would grow into an enamel puzzle piece, shiny and colorful. Now, if you were to ask Atsumu how that works, he wouldn’t be able to answer - but he still accepts the process. 

Why is everyone born with a puzzle piece seed? Now that’s something Atsumu can answer - it's a piece of your soulmate. It’s fitting, really, that a piece of a person’s soulmate grows from that person as a whole. The universe is generous in that way - it gives people a road to their destiny, a way to find their predestined true love. It does this by granting everyone another puzzle piece, grown from one’s hand, every 6 months of life; the amount of puzzle pieces a person has varies based on how long it takes for them to connect with their soulmate. Sometimes, the process of growing a puzzle piece can be sped up if you’re in the presence of your soulmate. The completed puzzle is usually a visual of something important from your soulmate’s life, a precious moment or one of their favorite things; it appears within one’s hand as soon as it’s completed. There’s even a rumor that the most compatible soulmates have animated puzzles, ones that allow for their puzzles’ visuals to move once completed. Atsumu thinks that they resemble the moving pictures from Harry Potter.

Many people are lucky when it comes to their soulmate. Their first piece might be a middle piece, which means that their puzzle would grow outwards from the center - the soulmate puzzle is much easier to complete that way. Some people’s first piece is even the face of their soulmate. Osamu is an example of this - his first 5 puzzle pieces, when put together, show a black jersey imprinted with the white number “10” in the middle. The moment that Osamu’s puzzle was completed was a day before the twins had joined Inarizaki, so it wasn’t surprising when Osamu had walked into the gym the next day and met eyes with Suna Rintaro, completed puzzles in both of their hands.

Atsumu isn’t as lucky. His puzzle is so damn ambiguous! All of the pieces he has are solely background pieces, and they’re relatively small. The only thing that tells him is that his soulmate is probably into scenery and he won’t be connecting with them anytime soon. Volleyball is, and always will be, his best soulmate, but Atsumu’s also human. He just wants love, but the relative unknownness of his soulmate puzzle can be a stark reminder that he might not be able to get it so easily.

“Oy, fucker!” Atsumu jerks, hearing the abrasive voice of his twin. “Hurry up! The Itachiyama players are comin’ soon. Ya gonna help me get ready or am I gonna have ta get Kita-san?”

“If ya get Kita-san, ‘m gonna eat all yer damn pudding again!”

Kita still ends up pulling the twins apart as they fight. Again. But the clean-up finishes right in time for the Itachiyama bus to pull up outside of the gym and for the team to welcome the others into their gym. The first person that steps out is, presumably, the Itachiyama captain, Iizuna Tsukasa. 

“Iizuna-san!” Kita says, waving at the other captain. “Welcome back ta our gym. Ya ready ta play some?”

“Yep! Let’s get going!” Iizuna replies cheerfully while turning back to gesture to his team. Atsumu tracks each of the members that exit the bus and - there he is. Sakusa Kiyoomi.

Now, Atsumu wouldn’t call himself an active instigator (hiding Osamu’s pudding every morning not included), but he’d gladly take the title when it comes to Sakusa. Earlier that year, they had attended the All-Japan Youth Training Camp together, where Atsumu had been introduced to the pleasure of Sakusa’s freaky wrists and borderline stone face. After that, he had made it his mission to elicit as many reactions as possible from the guy, and he’d been successful with his goal - that is, if his goal was just to elicit negative ones. The only positive reaction he was granted was the first time Sakusa hit one of his sets.

That was a moment neither of them would forget. One, because of the sound that echoed through the gym, signaling a perfect set-spike; and two, because both of them had looked in their hands and found a puzzle piece laying there right after the hit. They didn’t talk about it.

Besides that, Atsumu had guessed the guy just had bad taste. He’s a damn pleasure to be around! Osamu would disagree, but Osamu is Osamu, and he has even worse taste since he’s soulmates with Suna Rintaro. 

“Omi-kun!” Atsumu waves at his target, delighted when said boy shrinks even further into his jacket. “Ya ready to get yer ass handed ta ya?”

At that, the spiker emerges from his little sanctuary, like a turtle coming out of its shell. Throwing up the bird, he replies, “I should be asking _you_ that, Miya.” His cousin, Itachiyama’s libero, snorts into his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, yer all talk. Let’s see if ya can put yer money where yer mouth is, _Omi_.”

\---------------------------------------

Ok, so Sakusa _can_ put his money where his mouth is. Itachiyama wins 4-1 out of 5 sets, thanks to Sakusa’s overwhelming spin and Iizuna’s precise sets. Not to mention, Komori dug up damn near every one of Atsumu’s serves, rendering his first attack useless. The guy’s walking on air right now, smugly glancing over at Atsumu. Not even Atsumu’s worst nags are affecting him, so he decides to give it up. For now.

“This ain’t over, Omi, I’ll beat ya next time.” Atsumu says, hand extended as the Itachiyama students exit to their bus. 

Sakusa looks at Atsumu’s offered hand for way longer than one usually would, but takes it nonetheless. Probably too high on victory to be disgusted right now. “I should be saying that to you.”

“You know, reusing the same lines doesn’t make ya look cooler!” 

“I’m just stating my op-”

Before he finishes his sentence, Sakusa releases Atsumu’s hand and steps back quickly, as if he’s been burned. Surprised by the action, Atsumu mimics him.

Two puzzle pieces fall onto the ground between them.

“Again? Are we on the same cycle or somethin’?” Atsumu leans down and picks up his piece, connecting it to his own puzzle. When he looks up, Sakusa is still standing completely still. “What’s wrong?”

“My piece was supposed to grow in a month. It came early, at the same time as you. Again.”

Atsumu looks down at the puzzle piece on the floor, and then back up at Sakusa. He repeats this for god knows how long, until the both of them are snapped out of their trance by Iizuna’s yelling for Sakusa to get on the bus. The boy in question quickly leans down and snatches his piece, offering Atsumu a curt nod of the head before he dashes to his team. 

Twice now Atsumu and Sakusa had grown a puzzle piece at the same time - a common occurrence when people are near their soulmate. Could that mean….? No, it couldn’t. 

Could it?

Atsumu knows two things as of right now. One: he shouldn’t be getting too worked up about the issue. Flukes are possible, where a person’s puzzle-growing cycle can be disrupted, sped up, or slowed down due to stress or other factors. With the Spring Tournament coming up, as well as the rumor that Sakusa is planning on heading to university before going pro, it’s reasonable to assume that he’s going through some shit that could affect his cycle, which is the _only_ reason why he’s been syncing up with Atsumu.

Two: there is definitely something wrong with Atsumu’s brain because it isn’t immediately getting disgusted at the thought that Sakusa could be his soulmate. He’s known that he’s a raging bisexual since middle school, when he saw the American actor Sebastian Stan on television; the issue isn’t the idea of being destined to be with a man - it’s being destined to be with Sakusa.

Objectively, yes, the guy is a wet dream come alive - gorgeous body, pouty lips, those damn moles. But Atsumu is more of a personality guy, and Sakusa’s is complete shit. At least regarding his compatibility with Atsumu. If putting the two of them together was the universe’s idea of a job well done, then it had to be a comedian since even the thought of it seemed like a bad joke.

But Atsumu’s worrying about nothing, because it’s not possible that Sakusa is his soulmate. 

Right?

\---------------------------------------

The next time Atsumu sees Sakusa, it’s at the Spring Tournament. Sakusa and the rest of Itachiyama shine as always, both figuratively and literally in those horridly bright neon uniforms. Atsumu catches Sakusa’s eye once as they walk towards their respective sections, the challenge in the boy’s eye as apparent as always: _Try and beat me. You can’t._

Atsumu likes to think that his returning smirk is a good enough answer.

But just because they want a battle doesn’t mean the universe does. Both Inarizaki and Itachiyama fall too fast, too early in the ranks, with the demons of Karasuno taking down Inarizaki and a simple injury taking away Itachiyama’s chances as well. 

And it seems like the universe wants to continue beating Atsumu up since it makes him stumble upon Sakusa and Ushijima Wakatoshi kissing just outside of one of the stadium’s entrances. They clutch onto each other like lifelines, softly yet fiercely. Seeing the sight while hidden behind a wall makes him feel dirty, like an unwanted voyeur (which, he guesses, is exactly what he is). 

After spending more and more time with the other boy at the Youth Training Camp and playing with him again at Inarizaki, Atsumu became less and less opposed to the idea that Sakusa might’ve been his soulmate, his forever person, someone that could _finally_ take all the love he had inside of him. But of course, in a cruel twist of fate, the universe decided to take all of Atsumu’s hopes and crush them under its foot once again. Atsumu had thought that the universe’s idea of a joke would be putting him and Sakusa together, but he knows now that the joke all along was just Atsumu thinking he could’ve gotten what he desired.

When he looks back at Sakusa and Ushijima, he gets caught in an obsidian gaze. He’s been found. Without a last returning look, Atsumu quickly rearranges his jacket on his shoulders and dashes as fast as he can back to his team, but he’s stopped by a hand on his wrist, whirling him around to face those same eyes he’d just seen from over Ushijima’s broad shoulder. 

“Miya,” Sakusa pants out, chest heaving. He must’ve rushed to get to Atsumu. Was he that eager to push his new relationship in Atsumu’s face? “I presume you saw me and Wakatoshi-kun….together?” Ah, so he was.

“Yeah, didn’t know ya had it in ya, Omi!” Atsumu discreetly tries to shake off Sakusa’s now iron-clad grip around his wrist. His touch feels like a stain on Atsumu’s skin, dirty and unwanted. He’s itching to run away, to just crawl under a blanket and block out the world. Maybe he’ll pull out his uncompleted puzzle and stare at it for a little bit, just to put salt in the wound. He must be a masochist, after all, to be able to like Sakusa Kiyoomi.

“I, just,” Sakusa angles his gaze at the ground, scratching the back of his neck and toes the floor with the tip of his shoe. He’s the embodiment of anxiety, the human portrayal of a snake coiled up and ready to attack at the first sign of danger. Atsumu doesn’t really know why he’s so worked up, and he’d rather not stick around long enough to find out; truthfully, he doesn’t think he has much of a choice. “I’ve never done this with anyone before. You know, a relationship. I want to be careful.”

“So what’s yer point?” Atsumu’s getting antsy now. He wants to get _out_.

“Can you not tell anyone about what you saw? At least for now?” Sakusa finally looks at him again and Atsumu drowns in the pools of his irises, relishing while he’s able to in what he will never obtain. “I know we’re not best friends or anything, but I’d hope that we’re on good enough terms that you can keep this secret for me.”

Atsumu could almost scoff at Sakusa’s statement. Good enough terms? If only Sakusa knew. “‘Course, Omi. I’m not that much of an asshole, regardless of whatcha think.”

Sakusa’s nose wrinkles in distaste at Atsumu’s foul language, before letting out a heavy sigh. “Thank you, Miya. I hope you find your soulmate soon, as well.”

 _As well?_ Did that mean…. “Omi..do you think Ushiwaka is yer soulmate?”

Sakusa blinks once, twice. Then, unbelievably, a _blush_ overtakes his face. Atsumu’s stunned enough that he can barely remember the next words that Sakusa says (he honestly wishes he’d never heard them): “Yes, I think he’s the one.”

\---------------------------------------

After leaving the Spring Tournament gymnasium on that fateful day, heart and hopes left shattered on its grounds, Atsumu learns many things. He learns that Sakusa Kiyoomi and Ushijima Wakatoshi believe themselves to be destined soulmates, two parts of one whole; he learns that Sakusa Kiyoomi will not be following Atsumu or Ushijima to the pro leagues, but he’ll be wasting away in university for four years; he learns that maybe his hope of finding love will always remain a delusion, that the only person at fault for breaking his heart is himself. What even gave him the idea that Sakusa liked him, nevertheless was his soulmate? Did Atsumu even like Sakusa, or was that just his desperation for love talking?

See, Atsumu always tries to convince himself that the answer to that second question is the latter, but when he thinks about twin moles and pouty lips hidden behind a mask, he can’t help but _know_ that the answer is the former.

But Atsumu eventually learns that although he broke his own heart in the past, he has the power to mend it himself also. Why not say a big “fuck you” to the universe and determine his own destiny? Who says that he has to be limited to the rules of some higher power whose existence he isn’t even sure of? 

So, Atsumu goes on a lot of dates after he starts out in the pro-leagues. He tries to find that spark, the one that he found with Sakusa during that first completed set at the training camp so many years ago. The only person he’s ever really had some type of connection with was a girl named Elise back in his second year of playing pro, an American girl who traveled to Japan as part of a work exchange program. However, he should’ve realized that it would’ve never lasted long, since once he became a starter on the MSBY Black Jackals, he began to dedicate more time to his first soulmate than his potential one. 

Four years later, Atsumu is left with his own thoughts and a few more puzzle pieces, new ones that weren’t created in sync with Sakusa Kiyoomi’s. Four years later, Atsumu has picked up the pieces of _himself_ and has slowly put them back together into someone similar to who he was before. He’d watched other people find their soulmates, from Bokuto and Akaashi to Hinata and Kageyama. He considers it progress that with every new soulmate puzzle completed, the knowledge of the incomplete nature of his own stings just a bit less.

And then Coach Foster announces that the newest recruit of the MSBY Black Jackals will be Sakusa Kiyoomi.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! as always, comments and kudos are appreciated, let me know your thoughts! feel free to scream with me on [twitter!](twitter.com/hellfire1515)


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